Beat the Crisis with Online Payments
The world as you know it has changed due to the outcomes of the current crisis: the pandemic of the Corona Virus (Covid-19). Partly due to globalisation, the virus had spread so quickly, turning from an epidemic to a pandemic, that governments around the world cracked down on their people to strictly stay at home under an undefined period of quarantine.
The economic downturn of this quarantine has begun to lay its impact around the world; businesses have either slowed their production levels or completely stopped to cut down on costs, workers have been laid off indefinitely and many without pay, governments are trying to fund minimum wage workers and SMEs - basically, the circulation of money nationally and internationally has slowed down.
For those of you who have avoided online payments due to security reasons, possibly complicated payment integration procedures and circumstantial delays, now is the time to realise that the benefits offered by online payment systems are undoubtedly required.
To put things in to perspective, ponder upon the following tasks that the quarantine has rendered almost impossible:
- go outside for work or leisure
- shop for basic and nonbasic needs (food, clothes, accessories)/(office equipment, inventory)
- meet and greet people/clients/vendors
- touch objects, especially money (as it travels from hand to hand)
What your target customers are facing now have newer problems as compared to what you have been marketing for before the pandemic, and the bottleneck of most of the possible solutions is the method of payment.
Benefits of Online Payment
Over the course of many years, extensive measures have taken place to ensure the security that you need. To aid digital transformation for businesses to thrive (not just survive), the ability to receive payments is a must. As you go through the benefits listed below, keep in mind that this is applicable and highly valuable when the economy gets back to its regular pace:
Automated transactions
Convenience for online sales
Secured transactions
Fast transaction speed
Credibility
Can I opt out?
All of us have choices to opt out. However, during this pandemic, do the benefits of having an online payment system outweigh the possible benefits of not? Absolutely, and here is why:
- Today's market is all about convenience and how you can make life easier for your customers. Customers may be able to find you online, may even be interested in your products or services, but the inconvenience of taking the risk by physically arriving at your store amidst the quarantine will motivate them to choose another company over you.
- Payments can be conducted before and after the regular work timings - there are no limitations, especially when people are stuck at home without a schedule to discipline themselves. With your potential customers surfing the internet during the day and night, the mobility allows them to transact whenever they want to. They won't have to spend a lot of time in a line, waiting for their turn. Transactions can happen simultaneously amongst thousands of customers across your reach.
- The above point is applicable to both non-profit and charity organisations as well. As the pandemic has reached war-torn countries who do not have access to basic human needs, let alone a hospital with enough medical facilities, such people need humanitarian support. You would not be able to reach potential donators or commit to monthly targets for donation without a quick and secured payment gateway integrated into your platform.
- Your market reach would be tightly limited to the locality your business is situated in, let alone the city. Having an online payment system would mean your potential customers can come from across the city, national borders and even industries. You may believe your customers reside in a particular industry but widening your reach could mean you have opportunities in other industries as well.
- People around the world have been confined to their own homes, even students. The choices of these students are limited when online payment systems have not been established in those educational institutions. With international borders closed to prevent further spread of the virus and for those who cannot afford to travel in the first place, they need institutions who are ready to accept payments online.
Outcome after the crisis ends
People will rely on online payment systems now more than ever. The key take here is that this will eventually become habitual and after this phase passes (please, God), people's faith in online payment systems will remain steadfast along with the realisation of its ease of use.
For the businesses surviving this period with great difficulty, make use of this investment opportunity. When the crisis is over, you do not want to be in the same position you were before this crisis had started. As the economy grows, your business will too if you take the right steps right now.
Even if your business has survived this period of time, the number of people buying products and services online will increase and remain even after the quarantine period. As banking sectors start opening their services again to new customers, the number of people online will further increase. They will link credibility of your business to having an online payment system more strongly.
To tackle the current panic amongst enterprises of all sizes and industrial backgrounds, our company is aimed at helping businesses choose the right payment gateways to be integrated in to their respective platforms. Based on your business objectives, we offer consultation on the possible changes your business model must have to meet the demands of your customers based on the pandemic of Covid-19.
